Laundry machine



July 13, 1954 Filed March 2, 1949 J. B. KIRBY LAUNDRY MACHINE 3 sheets-sheet 1 JAME@ B. /f/RBY @VQ/gym July 13, 1954 J. B. KIRBY LAUNDRY MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 2, .1949

INVENTOR. Z4/156 .B /f/EBY BVM July 13, 1954 1, B, KlRBY 2,683,364

LAUNDRY MACHINE Filed March 2, 1949 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 '73` l I l l Il g3 i?? 93 I 92d l. I 63 'I1 es 67 67@ JNVENToR. V JAME B- K/RB Y BY I 8 f M l ATTOR/vgns Fig. '7 is a sectional view of the clutch control parts taken normal to the sectional view of Fig. 5.

It is generally recognized by those familiar with the centrifugal extractor art that the major difficulty in the centrifugal extraction of laundry fluid from clothes results from the forces developed at the critical speed of rotation and that a low critical speed is t be desired. The attempts to achieve a low critical speed or counter-balance for the forces developed at critical speed have usually resulted in complicated and expensive mechanism unsuited to a small domestic laundry machine. According to my invention a low critical speed is obtained and the liquid extracted from the clothes is utilized in a water balance ring carried by the container which compensates for out of balance loads that may occur in the container above the critical speed thereof. The low critical speed is achieved according to my invention by the novel structure of the container for the clothes, the mounting therefor and the drive means herein disclosed. The machine inits entirety is indicated in Fig. 1 as at 5 and comprises a base 6 whch supports the casing l, which in turn supports the motor bell housing S and the drive assembly 9. The base 6 and the casing l are connected to each other and the distribution of the weight of the parts carried thereby is such that the entire machine may be tilted about the wheels I0 at the lower edge of one side of the base and the machine can be wheeled about for storage in the manner of a hand truck. The tilting and wheeling the machine in this manner is facilitated by opposed handles Il attached to the casing as indicated in Fig. 4. The lower flared edge l2 of the base serves as a pedal or abutment for the users foot to assist in the tilting operation. The base f, casing 'I and the container i3 disposed within the casing are preferably made of ber glass because of the weight-strength ratio obtainable with this material. The base t comprises a hollow truncated-cone-like structure terminating at the top in an inturned supporting flange ld. The base t is provided at the side opposite the wheel supports with vacuum cups i5 which, along with the resilient tire la of the wheels lil, provide a resilient flexing support that restrains the machine againstmovement on the floor during operation. The base mounting iii-i5 cooperates with structure hereinafter described to effect the low critical speed obtained during the initiation of the extracting operation.

The casing l is secured to the base i5 through the medium of four spaced vacuum cups as at it. The cups IB are similar to the cups i5 but are made up of a softer rubber composition and are more flexible than the cups l5. The open ends of the cups it are disposed within the complementary metal cups or pockets I7 carried by the flange Ill of the base E and a flexible tie such as the cable or rope IS is anchored in the stem of the vacuum cups i6 at one end and anchored beneath the flange M of the base at the other end as at i9. The cups l5 and ILS are preferably provided with a small opening or air-bleed hole which causes the cup under the loads imposed by the operation of the machine to function somewhat in the manner of a dashpot so as to dampen the movement of the relatively moving parts. rIhe cups I5 and It are provided with the reduced cross-section as at 2l to increase the exibility of the support with respect to the lateral or horizontal motion.

The container l3 comprises side walls a bottom wall 24 and a reentrant hub 25. The side walls 23 slope outwardly from the hub towards the top and are secured to the top section 26 of the container by spaced blocks 2l or the like to provide a discharge opening for the laundry iiuid at the greatest diameter of the container. A plurality of inclined ribs are secured to the interior of the container i3 in the lower portions thereof to facilitate the roll-over and flexing of the clothes during washing. The upper section 26 of the container is curved inwardly and terminates in a down turned flange 23 which prevents the clothes from moving out of the container during extraction and which cooperates with the depending rim 29 carried by the casing of the top thereof to prevent the loss of fluid during washing.

A water balance chamber for the container is provided between the outer wall 23 of the container and the imperforate band 30 carried by the wall 23. The band 30 is spaced from and secured to the wall 23 by a plurality of vertically extending baflie plates 3l and 32 alternately arranged at spaced intervals around the periphery of the container. The vertical extent of the pockets formed by the bales 3l and 32 is interrupted in part by the angle section'33v. rlIhe pockets thus formed are open at the top as at 34 to receive the laundry liquid centrifugally discharged from the container during extraction and open at the bottom as at 35 to release such laundry fluid as the container comes to rest. The baffles 3i are cut away as at 38 to provide a fluid opening into the next adjacent pocket near the top of the water balance device and the baiiies 32 are cut away as at 31 to provide. a fluid passageway into the next adjacent pocket near the bottom of the water balance device.

The alternate top and bottom openings 158-3? meter or control the rate of flow peripherally of the liquid between the walls 23 and 3i] of the container and water balance device respectively. For instance, it will be observed that peripheral flow between adjacent pockets is controlled by bale plate 3l so as to flow through the passageway 3,5 at the top and that flow in the same direction with respect to the next adjacent baie 22 would be limited mainly to movement around the bottom of the baffle 32 and through the opening or cutaway 3l'. This peripheral movement of the liquid requires movement of the liquid vertically through the pocket and the vertical motion is in turn limited to a volume or depth exceeding the horizontally extending bailies 33. 1n this manner surge effects are eliminated and the effect of the water balance is smooth and even.

It will be understood that when the container i3 is rotated, the washing fluid is centrifugalli7 discharged over the upper wall thereof through the openings between the blocks 2i and that near the critical speed of such rotation the iiexible band 33 is moved by the water and the centrifugal force of rotation so as to move upwardly from the upper edge of the container wall as at 23a so as to discharge laundry fluid into the pockets formed between the baffles 3l and 32. During washing the exible band 38 maintains the po sition shown in Fig. l to prevent the loss of washing liquid. It will also be understood that as the rotational speed increases, the fluid disposed in the pockets between the baies will move from one pocket to another so as to compensate for out of balance conditions that may occur as the extraction proceeds.

The hub portion 25 of the container is apertured adjacent the central axis thereof to receive .the end of stub shaft it of the drive mechanism.

During-fthefwashingmperaucn trie stubeshartff-m describes a3 conical path but? doesv not rot'atef on: tsown laxisand thuslprogressivelyitilts the'v contait-rer' to eiect-the Kirby method or washing. By?I the; term `Kirby i method, as used' herein, it`- will befunderstood gthat the'fcontainen is? prog-res-y Y' sivelyltiltda'bout aapointlon th'e central axis thereof at a v rateesuch'* that# theibottornj and lside walls of fthe? container are lmoved E've1-tica1ly'-withan acceleration exceedir'ig` th`e= acceleration of gravity.i Thislrateof movement -res'ult'sin a suc-- cessivebraisingff and lowering of`r the clothes` and fiid'f theilowering'rate being suchthat the-containerportionsl supporting the` clothesa-nd"uid movev downwardly at a 'rateexceeding the acceleration of such clothesvandfluidv due to gravity.- On'i'th'e return upward stroke theL descending clothes and" fluide violently; collide with the ascending container part'with vthe resultthat there'-- isproducedsuccessively a condition of impact and ca'vitati'on: Theile'xingl ofthe clothes bythev Kirby method effects 'a rapidwashing action and with" theherein `disclosed' 'arrangement ofi washir'rgj`ribs^and"the herein' disclosed containerconfiguration',Y the Kirbyv methodbf washing evenly" distributes the clothesl around the'tuloso` that thewashing operation arranges the clothes to minimize out of balance during extraction. In connection with the Kirby method'of washing briefly described above; reference is made to my co'.pending applications identied as follows: Ser. Nf 526,154 filed March 13,1944, entitled Method and 'Apparatuslfor Washing and Drying Clothes, novir Pat; N0. 2,520,366,561 N0. `729,372 filed February 18,1947, entitledWashingrMachine, now Rat.- No'.Y 2,614,410, SerNo. 760,555 illed July 12, 1947entitled CombinedWashing and Extracting Machine, now Pat. No. 21,645,917, Ser. No. 757,773 -led June 28, 1947, entitled Washing Machine;V Ser. No. 6,911 filed. February 7, y1948, entitled. Vibration Controlled Washing Machine, Ser.` No.N 17,844V ledl-lviarch 30, 1948, entitled Combined.WashingsMachine and Extractor, Ser. No.' k41,210 led July129, 1948, entitled Combined- Washingltachine and Extractor, Ser. No. 42,192 l led August 1948;' entitled` Combined AWashing Mach-ine and Extractor', Ser. No. 619,849` filed:Y October 2,. i945-, entitled Washing Machine, and Seri No.1671,779 fled May 23,V 1946, entitledl WashingfandlzExtracting Machine, which disclose and claim variousfornisfoi machines adapted to carry out mym'ethod of Washing.

rhe drive assembly 9 includes a vertically disposed-pedestal "di fhaving a conical flange 42 in termediateiits-iheight'adapted to be received withinra-conical reentrant 'portion 43 formed in the underside of the casing l'. A gasket [i4 carried by theliiange ll2insures a fluid tight Vfit with th'e casing 'l -when the pedestal is drawn into position on the casing by the bolts 5.5"' extending throughcollar llt `on the inside of the casing. Roller: bearingslll" and 48 are mounted within th`e pedestal at the upper and lower ends respectively; to provide an anti-friction mounting for thee-sleeve -member i9. The upperl end of the sleeveetill is-provided with an enlarged'head 5) which supports anti-friction bearings 5I Vand'52- atan` angle to the axis of the sleeve-49. The angle' between the axis rof the head Eil and the axis'of the sleeve is preferably about four degrees and it will be understood that this angle determines the magnitude of the tilting of the container -employed to carry out the washing operation.' The lower" end of the sleeve' is eX- trirlytthreaded to'receive'the nterorly thread-'fA of l' the" sleeve" 49', provi-ded* with" a" bear respectively.'

tated; the*n container will be progressively'tilted; to carry `out-"the Kirbymetlod*ofiwashing' above described.

Thev selective "diveo'f the v-sleeve*t9 'land-sliaft 59; to `carry-'out the-washing" and' "extracting ope'H eratic'msJ respectively," is accomplished* by". means Orth-e* clutch-and brake' arrangement carried" at me-iowerendnfthepedestai:ai: The-exteriores thesleeve 53, whichV is" secured;v to the*"lower""end" Y gJSZ to' support for "rotation the" continuously" driven' pulley* 63; TheY opposed fafcisNo` the pulleyA E3 serve `as driving ciutchpartssd thatwhen"tle"` upperl face offth'epulley; indicated in" 64, is"ini Contact with` 'the'driven clut'ch'part i65 carried ;b"ythe sleeve '49, the washing" actioniscarridot`" andwhenv thelower facei l'of "the'pulle'yl 63 vis-in engagement With a drivenclutch"partf6lcarrl d`E ried'out;

To dterminewhich of "thel drivencluth parts" 65-'o1"'7` shall lbe engaged with the" pulley;v al' shifter cage'vis-fprovid'ed.' Theshift`er cageco'rn-l prises upper and"'lower"'annularrings land' TI Thekk rings" '10;71' are' nrally` maintained at a fixed idistancefron leach other" by spaced posts 12. The posts 12 are 'riveted'atf their upper endsto the" ring. l asbest'show" in Figs.` 5v and dand'have reduced shank' d'i'ail eters at their Alower endsextending' througliopen ings provided in the rin'gl'l.' Thel'ringlVis-'I normally urged upwardly" againstJ the' larger' shankdiam'eter of" the posts 12iby springs"7'3"".` which are" maintained inI the' position"`shown` Figs. 5 andv 6' byan adjustingnu't' Tli'roiig`h'-Y out the normal operation of ithdlaundry' machine' the rings "10 and'll are maintained-inthe position -shown in Fig. 5` andare inovedasa 'uniti' bymovingthe upper ring '10"lo'y`means of"'pi1`1`s' y.s2 carried bythe'shifterfork sslais-ssadjiacent its pivot onthe belllhous'in'g.' Thin'ner" ends of the pins 92 *arev securedto b1ocks'92a` carried; bythe ring' 1u".l

The lower ring'll may? be moved 'independently ofthe upper'ring'by' similarly'. arranged pins '98"3 se'cured to 'blocks' 99' carriedVA bythe lwer`ring 'I The driven olutch'p'ar'ts and 'B1 are proportioned with respect tothe pulleylfacestil/andi7 vi'so as to project radiall'ythere beyondandoverlap a `portion of utheclutch shifter rings'mand 1|. The result of "this -"arrangern'ent isthatthe driven clutch portions 'which'. overhangthe pull ley surfaces servev as "a friction" clutch and the7A `fportionV which overhang 'the "clutch shifter rin'g 'mand 1| serve as africtionbrake.--

face 66 of the driving pulley 63 by the resilient clutch plate Bla. In this position of the shifter the ring lil has lifted the driven clutch member 65 away from the face 64 of the pulley t?, in opposition to the resilient member @c and thus the ring serves as a brake to restrain the sleeve 49 from rotational movement. When the clutch shifter as a unit is moved to its lower position (not shown) it will be understood that the ring 1I will move the driven clutch member El down away from the face Se of the pulley 63 and at the same time the clutch member EE will be lowered into engagement with the face 6'4 of the driving pulley. This wobbles the container I3 to effect the washing action as above described. The clutch parts and the clutch shifter units, above described, are proportioned so that the rings I0 and 'il may be moved to an intermediate or neutral position whereby neither of the driven clutch member 65 and El are in frictional engagement with the driving pulley 63.

The drive for the machine includes a motor 13 supported by the bell shaped housing 8 secured to the underside of the casing l by means of cap screws 'I4 and the motor and driving assembly thus forms a flexibly supported unit with the casing 1. The belt 'i6 is arranged to transmit the rotation of the motor shaft to the driving pulley 63 by way of the idler pulleys 'i1 and 18. The last named pulleys are supported on an axis transverse to the motor pulley by means of a bracket 19 secured to the bell housing 8. The pulleys 'll and 1S are secured to the bracket 'E9 at an angle determined by the belt lt. The bell housing is provided with a pair of opposed bosses 8l'J-8l to which the clutch fork 84-85 is pivoted and the housing is vertically slotted as at 9d to accommodate the clutch shifting pins S2, In the normal operation of the machine the manual swinging of the clutch fork about pivot 9| on the bell housing raises and lowers the ring 'it by means of pins s2 extending inwardly from the diverging arms 84-85 of the clutch fork. riihe motion of the ring lil is transmitted through posts 'I2 to raise and lower the clutch shifter assembly as a unit so as to engage one or the other of the driven clutch parts {S5- ti with the rotating pulley 63. When, however, an extreme out of balance condition occurs during the acceleration of the container in the extraction phase it is desirable that the drive to the extractor be inter rupted momentarily. rEhe advantage of such momentary interruption or dwell during acceleration is that the mass of clothes and uid causing the out of balance condition will have iluid extracted therefrom during such dwell and thus re move or reduce the cause of such condition. To eiect the drive interruption or dwell, have provided an indepenednt control for the extractor clutch comprising the linkage mechanism 93, 9d, Q5 and S6. The link 9? is secured to a pin QS extending through the vertical slot 9G of the bell housing and the inner end of the said pin 93 is anchored to a post 99 carried by the ring ii. The upper end of the link S3 is pivoted as at 100 to the bell crank 94 which in turn is pivoted on the bell housing as best shown in Figs. 3 and 7. The other end of the bell crank Si is pivotally connected to the U-shaped member Q5, shaped to embrace the bell housing, and the midportion of the member e5 is secured to a exible element 9E anchored to a bracket sta, mounted on the base E. During normal extraction operation of the machine, that is in the absence of an out of balance load developed when approaching critical speed, the parts remain in the position shown in Fig. 5, wherein the flexible element 96 is slack. When, however, an out of balance condition occurs such as would cause the casing 1 to shift laterally with respect to the base 6, such relative movement away from the bracket 96a puts the flexible member 96 in tension which turns the bell crank Se on its pivot with the result that the ring 'il is moved downwardly, as shown in Fig. 6. The downward movement of the ring 'H is accommodated by the springs 13 with the result that the ring l remains in its raised position as shown in Figs. 5 to 7 and the acceleration of the container is retarded by the declutching and braking effect of ring 1l on the driven clutch part 61. The translatory movement of the container toward the bracket 96a renders the springs 'It effective in restoring the ring 'Il to its raised position as shown in Fig. 7.

|fhe outer end or the clutch fork 83 projects through a vertical slot in the skirt 'la so that it may be conveniently manipulated by the operator. inside of the skirt la and secured to the undersid-e of the casing i as at 88 is a depending latch bar having reentrant grooves to receive a compiementary boss carried by the fork 83 so as to resiliently hold the fork in either one of three positions corresponding to a washing, extracting or neutral position.

To carry out the laundry operation the clothes and washing fluid are placed within the container i3 alongr with soap or other detergents and the clutch shifter fork 83 is moved to the dotted line position as shown in Fig. '3, which results in lowering the clutch shifter assembly so that the ring l i moves the driven clutch part 6i? away from the rotating pulley 63 and at the same time restrains the member 57 and the shaft 59 carried thereby from rotation. The lowering of the clutch shifter ring 'it brings the driven clutch part into engagement with the face (ifi of the puliev S3 with the result that the rotation of the pulley is imparted through the clutch to the sleeve @Q The rotation of sleeve Q9 effects a progressive tilting of the container and washes the clothes therein. It will be noted that the container it is iinperforate and fluid tight up to the juncture oi the wall it with the upper section 26 so that the clothes and washing huid are retained therein during the washing operation. The yieldable rubbeiwiike guard 2Q depending from the top of 4the casing i prevents the splashing of the washing fiuid over the upper edge of the container.

The driven clutch part t5 and the upper end portion Et of sleeve t@ carry the counterweights W and W1 respectively. Said weights are spaced i3@ degrees from each other and function as a torce couple to compensate for the load differential in raising and lowering the clothes and fluid.

it the conclusion of. the washing operation the lever 83 is moved to the full line position shown in Fig. S which moves the clutch shifter parts and the driven clutch parts to the position shown in Fig. l, wherein the rotation of the driving pulley t@ is transmitted to the shaft 5t so that the container is rotated about the axis Sila of the stub shaft. As the rotation of the container i3 increases up through the critical speed, the washing uid is discharged from the container through the openings between the blocks 2l and the discharged water directed downwardly into the pockets between the baiiies 3i and 32 of the water balance ring. A part of the discharged water is centrifugally held in the annular chamber between the wall 23 or the container and the wallfiof the balance device. The surplus fwater into ,thefcasing 5 whereitiis-discharged through 'gthe tangentially arranged conduit 7b. .Afhose lc idirects therdischarged washiwater to a drain. As :the extraction phase continues there will be a change in: the out ofibalance condition due to the ,waterf-being removed from the .clothes `and such ichanges are compensated for by the flow 4ofwaliterv through` the water balance` ring pockets `herertoforeidescribed.

,fAtithefconclusion Yof the extracting operation the control lever 83 is moved to its intermediate or neutral position so that neither of the driven Clutch members 65 or 61 is engaged with the rotating pulley. In this position the clutch parts are restrained from rotation by frictional contact with the rings E-"il, The bringing of the basket to rest eliminats the centrifugal force theretofore effective to hold the washing fluid against the wall 3d of the balance ring and such water is discharged by gravity into the casing 'l where it escapes through the outlet lb.

In the event that the character of the garments being washed produces an extreme out of balance condition during the initiation of the extracting phase such as would tend to give the casing 'i and the mechanism carried thereby a shifting or translatory movement with respect to the supporting structure 8, the acceleration of the extractor will be interrupted. 'I'his interruption or momentary dwell of the acceleration causes the garments, which produced the out of balance condition, to lose some of the fluid by centrifugal extraction during such momentary7 dwell. Such loss of iiuid reduces the total Weight oi the garments and the basket in its entirety may thereafter be further accelerated. This cycle of acceleration and momentary dwell will be automatically repeated as often as may be necessary until sufcient fluid is extratced from the garments so that the extractor basket may pass through its critical speed of rotation without causing appreciable translatory motion with respect to the base or supporting structure.

Although I have shown in the drawings and described in considerable detail one form of my invention, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modiiications may be made therein without departing from the scope of my invention as defined in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

l. In a combined washing and extracting machine, a base, a supporting frame yieldingly supported on said base, a'pedestal projecting upwardly from said supporting frame, a tubular shaft mounted for rotation in said pedestal, an inclined bearing fixed to the upper portion of said tubular shaft, a washing and extracting container having a re-entrant bottom portion provided with a depending stub shaft mounted in said inclined bearing, a spin shaft mounted for l rotation within said tubular shaft coupled to said stub shaft, a motor support depending from said supporting frame, a motor secured to said motor support coaXially of said tubular shaft, transmission means mountedcoaxially of said tubular shaft and means interconnecting said motor and said transmission means, a Water balance ring secured to said Washing and extracting container,

said balance ring having an imperforate side Wall secured to and spaced from the outer wall of the container to provide an annular chamber, vertically disposed spaced baies arranged in said l@ annular chambenthe vertical extent'of said baffies being-less than the -verticalextent of the said imperforate side wall so as to provid-e an interconnecting passageway between the pockets in the annular chamber formed by said baiiies, said washing and extracting container having openingsnear the'top ofthe container and-below the top edge of the said'imperforate wall of said balance ring whereby centrifugally discharged water from vthe-container is moved through said openings into said annular chamber.

2. fi-washing and extractingmachine comprising a base having-side walls,an inwardly projecting support vcarriedby saidside walls, spaced resilient supporting members mounted on said inwardly extending support, a frame secured to said resilient supporting members, a vertically disposed pedestal mounted on said frame, a tubular shaft rotatably mounted in said pedestal, an inclined bearing secured to the upper end of said tubular shaft, a washing and extracting container having a re-entrant central bottom portion surrounding said pedestal and inclined bearing, a stub shaft secured to said container and depending therefrom and rotatably mounted in said inclined bearing, said container being in the form or a surface of revolution having a maximum diameter adjacent the top of the container, a balance ring in the form of a surface of revolution secured to the exterior wall of said container, said balance ring including an imperforate circular wall spaced from said container, said imperforate wall extending vertically above the maximum diameter of the container, said container wall having openings at said maximum diameter 'whereby water discharged` centrifugally from the container is directed into said water balance ring, a transmission housing depending from the underside of said frame, transmission means concentric of said tubular shaft within said housing, a motor secured to said housing coaxally of said tubular shaft and means connecting said motor and said transmission means to rotate said container.

3. A Washing and extracting machine comprising a floor supported base, resilient means anchored at one end to said base and at the other end to a frame, said resilient members being spaced from each other and providing for limited lateral movement of the frame with respect to the base, a vertically disposed pedestal secured to said frame and projecting above said frame,

a tubular shaft rotatably mounted in said pedestal and projecting above the upper end of the pedestal and provided at said upper end with an inclined bearing, said tubular shaft projecting below the lower end of the pedestal and provided at said lower end with transmission means, a washing and extracting container having a reentrant bottom portion surrounding said pedestal, a stub shaft mounted concentrically of the container in said re-entrant bottom portion and depending therefrom into said inclined bearing, a spin shaft mounted for rotation within said tubuiar shaft and having the upper end thereof u connected to said depending stub shaft, a transmission housing secured to said frame and depending within said base centrally of the base, a motor mounted on the lower portion of said housing coaxially of sai-d shafts and means operatively connecting said motor and said transmission means.

(References on following page) References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Dunham Jan. 14, 1930 Andrews Feb. 13, 1934 Dransfeld Feb. 1, 1936 Limpert Mar. 9, 1937 Kottgen Feb. 17, 1942 Hurley et a1. Feb. 16, 1943 Bassett Feb. 23, 1943 Breckenridge Mar. 16, 1943 Beattie Nov. 23, 1943 Clark Oct. 24, 1944 Number Name Date Kirby Aug. 7, 1945 Ferris Aug. 14, 1945 Kirby Mar. 5, 1946 Clark Oct. 1, 1946 Woodson Nov. 16, 1948 Page Feb. 8, 1949 Pietz May 17, 1949 Jiminez Oct. 25, 1949 Kirby Aug. 29, 1950 Holm-Hansen Jan. 16, 1951 Douglas Jan. 30, 1951 De Remer June 5, 1951 

